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Toward the end of spring training, Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro outlined the state of
the organization in a message that sounded like a Hallmark greeting to fans of the Indians' new
triple-A affiliate in Columbus.

"I'd initially point to the minor-league talent, the depth of it from top to bottom," Shapiro
said. "It's not just talent that can fill in. It's talent that we can build around. There is a
layer of guys at triple-A that have the ability to impact us this season."

One already is: Outfielder Trevor Crowe, expected to start the season with the Clippers, instead
found himself on the Indians' opening-day roster because of a calf injury to David Dellucci.

Shapiro, who began his career with Cleveland in 1994 as director of minor-league operations,
sees parallels in the current system with the players who helped the organization rise in the
mid-1990s.

"I think the depth and the overall numbers are as good as anytime," he said. "But you're also
talking about an era in the early '90s when we had three or four Hall of Famers. So to say that you
ever could create that level of talent again at any point in a career is tough to say."

Shapiro acknowledged that he was including shortstop Omar Vizquel, a trade acquisition, in that
group.

"But we had Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez and four or five other guys who were multiple All-Stars
-- like (Brian) Giles and (Sean) Casey," he said. "It might be as deep (now). I just don't know the
ceiling if two of those guys are going to be Hall of Famers. That's a stretch. But you've got
certainly a layer of talent from which there could be All-Star players and a lot of everyday
major-league players."

Ross Atkins, Indians director of player development, noted the trades in 2008 that brought
Clippers outfielders Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley into the system along with catcher Carlos
Santana of double-A Akron.

"Three things happened," Atkins said. "I think some incredible trades and an incredible couple
of drafts, and then some of our younger Latin American players have matured. We have depth in areas
we haven't seen."